Apparatus for handling railway ties



July 22 1924: 1,502,568

R. S. HURLEY APPARATUS FOR HANDLING RAILWAY TIES Filed June 18 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jufly 22 I924. 1,502,568

R. s. HURLEY APPARATUS FOR HANDLING RAILWAY TIES Filed June 18; 123

12 Sheets-Sheet 2 j 13111621161.- ;,E.! v I 112 87611? J Hark/y,

Patented July 22, 1924-.

siren ar s ROBERT S. HURLEY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

APPAnA'rUs nonnennmue narLwaY 'rrns.

Application filed June 18, 1923. Serial No. 645,947.

()hio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Handling Railway Ties, of which the following is; a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for handling railway ties, and constitutes part of a complete apparatus or system for picking up ties which are piled in ricks for seasoning in a storage field and transferring and load ing them into small narrow gage trams, which trams are then run into treating cylinders wherein the ties are impregnated with creosote. In practice the tie ricks are about twelve to twenty feet high and forty feet long, and opposite one end of the ricks are standard gage tracks on which the ties are brought into the storage field, and opposite the other end of the riclzs are the tram tracks; these tracks dividing the field into narrow yards. In some yards the standard gage tracks are equipped with a third rail to accommodate the narrow gage trams. The apparatus of the present invention is designed to facilitate and expedite the transfer of the ties from the ricks onto the ground adjacent to the tram car; whence, by the aid of another apparatus constituting the subject matter of a companion application filed December 24-, 1923, Serial No. 682,372, the ties may then be loaded onto the trams.

In the accompanying drawingsl have illustrated a practical and approved embodiment of my invention and referring thereto Figs. 1 and 2 are front and side elevations, respectively, of a tie rick, shown equipped with a portion of the apparatus for facilhating the removal of the ties one at a time from the rich; these views illustrating the manner in which the first five or sixties of each horizontal layer lying adjacent to the front of the rich are discharged manually; Fig. is a. fragmentary top plan viewof Fig. 1; v

4 is an enlarged fragmentary topplan view of Fig. 9., more particularly illusi fatlng th stru tiu'e a teet ring ba an jigging bar at the front end of the trolley ra k;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the parts show'nin Fig. has viewed from the bottom of thelatter figure.

i Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the upper portion of the, rick, showing, in association .with the trolley track and teetering and jigging bars an auxiliary teetering roller andbar, and a trolley truck or carrier for lifting the remaining ties of the horizontal layer, swinging them horizontally through a right angle and transferring and delivering them to the auxiliary teetering roller and b Fig. 7 is a fragmentary top plan of the parts shown in Fig. 6, showing in full and dotted lines the position of. the trolley when picking up and transporting a tie, respectively;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of the upper portion of a rick showing by full and dotted lines, respectively, positions of the trolley truck when transporting and delivering a tie to the teeteringroller;

Fig. 9 is anenlarged top plan view of the teetering and jigging bars and the auxiliary teetering roller and barges shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10- is a side elevation of the parts shown inFig. 9, viewed from the bottom of the latter figure;

1 1 is a side elevation of the trolley trackand truck; and

Fig. 12 is a vertical section, enlarged, of

the trol ey truck taken on the line l212 of Fig. 11. i

Referring to the drawings, 15 designates as an entirety a rich of ties; the manner in which they are piled up to secure ventilation and effect their drying" out being clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. As previously stated, after the ties in the rich are thoroughly dried and ready for the creosoting treatmentythev are unloaded from the rick from the top of the latter downwardly transferred to small tram cars and, on the latter, carried into the treating cylinders. The apparatus of the present invention is designed tofacilitate the manual unloading of the ties one at a time from the rich and their delivery on end to position adjacent to the of the two spaced topmost horizontal rows of ties, and may be made in separably coupled sections if desired. Secured to the forward end of the track 16 by a T-coupling 17 (Figs. dand 9) is a teetering bar 18 formed with a tie-biting upper edge such as a series of upstanding teeth 19; and secured to one end of the teetering bar 18 by a T-coupling 20 is a forwardly extending jigging bar 21- also equipped with a series of upstanding teeth 22 or other tie-biting upper edge. On the other end of the teetering bar 18 is similar l'-coupling 20, in the forward end of which is secured a short pipe section 23. Fast on the pipe section 23 and the jigging bar 21 are a pair of depending hooks 2 1 (Fig. 5) formed with sharp prongs or teeth 25 which are driven into the side of the first underlying tie to anchor the trolley track and jigging and teetering head in position. In the inner ends of the T-couplings 20 and 20 are secured shortpipe sections 26 to which are fitted a pair of upstanding elbows 27 for a purpose hereinafter disclosed.

It being understood that the ties as a rule are too heavy to be picked up bodily and carried by the average workman, the operation of the apparatus thus far described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive is as follows. The workman on top of the rick grasps the foremost tie at one end and rolls it forwardly until it rests on the jigging bar 21 being held thereon by the teeth 22. He then tilts the same upwardly, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. and then, by rolling the tie in the opposite or rearward direction and at the same time swinging it angularly, transfers it from the bar 21 onto the teetering bar 18; this position being indicated by full lines in Figs. 1 and 2; the tie being then supported on the teeth 19 at an angle of approximately 15. The operator then pushes the upper end of the tie forwardly until the latter reaches approximately a vertical position. in which it is dislodged from the teeth of the teetering bar and drops end foremost onto the ground, usually falling back into a leaning position against the 7 face of the rick as shown in Figs. 1 and ner, being simply rolled over on the track- 16 until they reach the jigging bar 21. The fi OV -l 9f the first five or six ties affords.

mounted on the upper ends of vertical pipe sections 29 which are removably ntted into the upper ends of the elbows 27. Between and rigidly connecting and spacing the coupling members 28 is an auxiliary teetering bar 30 having upstanding teeth 31. Connected into the rear ends of the coupling members 28 are a pair of short sections 82onto which are fitted T-couplings 38 supporting a shaft 34: on which is mounted a smooth surfaced teeteringroll 35. It is to be understood that the complete assembly last described is readily insertable into and removable from the upper ends of tie elbow couplings 27 as a unit; and this auxiliary teetering mechanism is applied for use when the operator begins to use the trolley truck next described.

One simple and practical construction of this trolley truck is illustrated in detail in Figs. 11 and 12; one peculiarity thereof being its capacity for a considerable variety of tipping and turning movements required on account of the peculiar manipulation of the tie in transferring it from its point of rest to its point of discharge from the top of the rick. In and between a pair of parallel horizontal truck bars 36 12) are journaled a pair of trolley wheels or rollers 37 preferably made with concave treads fitting the round track 16. Secured to the outer side of one of the truck bars overlie one side of the track 16 serve the purpose of'prerenting the wheels slipping off the track when the truclr is tilted sidewise to pick up the tie as hereinafter.

described. Mounted in and between the side bars 36, centrally of the'latten is a shaft 39 on which is mounted slotted block 40; and pivotally mounted at its lower end on the shaft 39 in the slot of the block 40 is an upstanding rod or stem 41. Surrounding the rod 41 and stopped at its lower end on the block 40 is a tubular member 42, rig idly mountedon the upper end of which is a horizontal head-piece 413; and welded or otherwise secured to the upper side of the member 13 is a tie grip 4:4 of substantially semi-circular form in cross section forming a pair of parallel lips having sharp edges 15 adapted to bite into the lower sid of the tieas the latter is engaged by the head in the manner hereinafter described. Secured to one end of the m mber 42; is an upstanding stem or shankflG, on the upper end of, which is a horizontal operating handleei', The central post or steiiiel extends through apertures in the members 43 and 4A, and is headed over above the latterto lockthe parts together with capacity for relative turning movement as clearly shown Fig, 12. this construc tion; the head-piece 43 and tie grip 44: are eapable of turning or tilting in both horizontal and verticalplanes. v I

v The manner in which the ties are handled by the tool is progressively illustrated in Figs. 6, and 8. The trolley is moved backwardly along thetrack until theliiei'rt tie to be'remoyed is reached. The trolley is then tilted downwardly sid'ewise on one side of the. trolley track,- as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7,1 and the head-piece is entered beneath thetie'. The handle is then swung to the vertical position, which lifts the tie onto the head-piece, as shown dottedlines. in Fig. 6; the' sharp edges of the lips 4st biting into the tie. andthus anchoring on the trolley. After engaging the tie the opera tor proceeds toward the roller 35, one end of the tie dragging which automatically causes the tie to turn through the desired angle. The loaded trolley is then readily drawn along the track, as illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8, until it reaches the advanced positio'n shown by full lines in Fig.8; whereupon, by tilting the handle forwardly, the tie is further advanced and brought to rest on the roller 35 in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 8.

roller 35 for a foot or two simultaneously tipping its forward end downwardly until it catches and is suspended on the teeth 31 of the auxiliary teetering bar 30. A. slight further elevation of the rear endof the tie and a forward push on the same throws itc'lear of the teetering bar'and the tie dropslower end foremost against the face of the rick in the manner already described In this way all the remaining ties of the,

serted thereunder andthe tie transferred to the discharge point in the manneralready described.

I lVhen one complete horizontal layer of ties has been thus removed, the track with its jigging and t'eetering bar is shifted to a position beneath the next horizontal row of ties which has thus become the topmost layer; and the described operatioiisfare repjeated. After the rickhasbfeen lowered a pasgenteel .tetit ifdsed the t1e,'when tilted on the teetering bars, strikes The operator then lifts the rear end of the tie, rolls it over the.

loading mechanism.

The described apparatus greatly facilitates and lessens the manual labor and strain of handling 'these'heavy articles and transferring them from the tall ricks in which they are piled to a position favorable for their loading onto the train cars; enabling the jobtob'e easily; rapidly and comfort ably performed. While the described invention has been designed primarily as an unloader, it may be used in the operation of stacking ties in connection with a hoist which willpull the tie out of the car and elevate it to the required height and deposit it on the edge of the pile," whence it will be picked up by the truck, carried back and "deposited in place; its action in such case being simply thereverse of that herein describedi I I J .l/Vh'ile I have herein shown and descilibed one practical embodiment of the invention which hasbeen found in practice to satisfactorily effectuate the purposes of the inven tion, it is manifest that the structural detailsniay'be widely varied and modified within the skill of the designer without involving any departure from the principle "of the invention, or sacrificingai iy of the advantages thereof. Hence Ires'erve all'such variations and modifications as fall within the I spirit and purview. of the appended clainis.

I claill l I 1. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track in'sertable between the topmost and next underlying h orizontal rows of ties, and a transversely disposed teetering bar on the forward end of said track. i A

2. Iii an apparatus for unloading tiesfi'oni ricks, the combination of a ti'ack inserta-ble between the topmost and next underlying rows of ties, and a transversely disposed teetering bar oiithe forward end of said track provided on its upper edge with means for biting into the tie.

3; In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the cohibin'ation of a track insei table between the topmost and next, underlying rows of ties, atransversely disposed teetering bar on the forward end of said track,

and means for anchoring" said track and teetering bar in place. 7

4t. Than apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, thecoinbination of a track insertable .between the topmost and iieiit underlying horizontal rows of ties, 'a transversely dis posedteetering bar on the forward end of said track, and a pair of depending sharp pointed hooks connected to said teetering bar adapted to be driven into the face of the foremost underlying tie to anchor said teetering bar and track in place.

5. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the topmost and next underlying rows ofties, a transversely disposed teetering bar on the forward end of said track provided with upstanding teeth, and means for anchoring said track and teetering bar in place.

6. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the topmost and next underlying horizontal rows of ties, a trans versely disposed teetering bar on the forward end of said track provided with upstanding teeth, and a pair of depending sharp pointed hooks connected to said teetering bar adapted to be driven into the face of the foremost underlying tie to anchor said teetering bar and track in place.

7. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the topmost and next underlying rows of ties, a transversely disposed teetering bar on the forward end of said track, and a forwardly extending jigging bar on said teetering bar.

8. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the topmost and next underlying rows of ties, a transversely disposed teetering bar on the forward end of said track, and a forwardly extending jigging bar on one end of said teetering bar disposed substantially at right angles to the latter.

9. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the topmost and next underlying rows of ties, a transversely disposed teetering bar on the forward end of said track, and a forwardly extending jigging bar on one end of said teeteringbar; said teetering and jigging bars being equipped with upstanding teeth.

10. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the topmost and next underlying horizontal rows of ties, and a tie lifting and carrying trolley adapted to travel on said track and equipped with a handle for manual operation thereof.

11, In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track in-' sertable between the topmost and next underlying horizontal rows of ties, a tie lifting and carrying trolley adapted to travel on said track and equipped with a V handle for manual operation thereof, and

a transversely disposedmember on the forward end of said track for supporting and on and above the forward end of said track.

13. In an apparatus for unloading ties from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the topmost and next underlying horizontal rows oli ties, a tie lifting and carrying trolley adapted to" travel on said track and equipped with a handle for manual operation thereof, a transversely disposed teetering bar mounted on andabove the forward end of said track and equipped with upstanding teeth, and a transversely disposed teetering'roll in rear of said teetermg bar.

14. In an apparatus for unloading t1es from ricks, the combination of a track insertable between the. topmost and next underlying horizontal rows of ties, a main teetering bar mounted on and transversely of the forward end of said track, an auxiliary teetering bar and teetering roll removably connected to and'dispos ed above and in rear of said main teetering bar, and a tie lifting and carrying trolley adapted to travel on said track and equipped with a handle for manual operation thereof.

15. A trolley truck for use in removing railway ties from ricks, comprising a truck frame, wheels mounted tandem therein, a central upstanding support on said frame,

a horizontal tie lifting and carrying member v swiveled on said support, and an operating handle connected to said tie lifting and carrying member;

16. A trolley truck for use in removing railway ties from riclrs, comprising a truck frame, wheels mounted tandem therein, a'

central upstanding support pivoted for fore and aft swinging movement on said frame, a horizontal tie lifting and carrying member swiveled on said support, and an operating handle connected to one end of said lifting and carrying member.

17. A trolley truck for use in removing railway ties from ricks, comprising atruck frame, wheels mounted tandem therein, a central'upstanding support pivoted for fore and aft swinging movement on said frame, a horizontal tie lifting and carrying member swiveled on said support, and provided with a sharp upper edge adapted to bite into the under surface of a tie, and an operating handle connected to said lifting and carry railway ties from risks, comprising a truck frame, wheels mounted tandem therein, a central upstanding support pivoted for fore and aft swinging movement on said frame, a horizontal tie lifting and carrying member swiveled on said support and provided on its upper side with a pair of parallel lips formed with sharp upper edges adapted to bite into the under surface of a tie, and an operating handle connected to one end of said lifting and carrying member.

19. In an apparatus for removing railway ties from ricks, the combination with a track rail, of a tie lifting and carrying trolley mounted to travel on said track rail and provided with flanged wheels engaging the means mounted on said trolley and engaging with said track rail to prevent the trolley from slipping off said track rail when tilted, laterally thereon. l 20. In an apparatus for removing railway ties from ricks, the combination with a round track rail, of a tie lifting and carrying trolley mounted to travel on said track rail and provided with wheels having concave treads fitting said track rail, and guard strips attached to a side of said trolley and extending downwardly alongside said track rail to prevent derailment of said trolley when the latter is tipped laterally on said trackrail to engage beneath a tie.

ROBERT S. HURLEY. 

